The effect of gender and body size on linear accelerations of the head observed during daily activities.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of gender and body size on peak linear head accelerations during daily activities. Head accelerations were measured for 18 volunteers using a biteplate system. Each subject performed seven activities: sitting in a chair, sitting quickly in a chair, walking at 1.3 m/s, running at 2.7 m/s, performing jumping jacks, doing a vertical leap, and jumping off a step approximately 20 cm high. Peak resultant head accelerations for each subject and activity were compared to determine if there were statistically significant differences based on variables such as gender and size. All measured accelerations were below 10 g with a maximum peak acceleration of 9.54 g recorded during the vertical leap activity. Larger head accelerations were measured during the jumping activities, while lower accelerations occurred during the sitting, walking, and running events. Based on the statistical analysis, it was determined that gender and size do not have a statistically significant effect on peak linear accelerations of the head during daily activities.